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Hien
Hien, also known as Strider Hien, is a character from the Strider series of action platformer games. He is an boss antagonist who first appeared in Strider 2 and later became a playable character in the PlayStation port's exclusive "Hien Mode". Hien is a former member of the Striders and protagonist Hiryu's former comrade-in-arms, having worked together in several missions. Jealous of Hiryu's strength and status, Hien abandoned the organization and resurrected series villain Grandmaster Meio, allying himself with Hiryu's enemy and becoming his devoted right-hand man. Biography Appearance Hien wears an all white Special-A Class Strider outfit with brown accessories, a long white scarf and a loose-fitting metalic belt. This is identical to Hiryu's normal uniform, except with a brown kanji of the first character of his codename imprinted on the upper left of his chest. In the in-game cutscene and official art, however, Hien's design is completely different: he wears white baggy pants and a large, four-buttons white jacket with black lines over the shoulders. He has two strap-ons around each shoulder, and uses black leather gauntlets. The "hi" kanji on Hien's clothes is replaced by a grey badge with a stylized red "S". Personality Hien shows complete and total devotion to Grandmaster Meio, and describes him in the light of a god or deity, as the Creator of everything and everyone on Earth.Capcom (2000; PlayStation). Strider 2. Stage 00: Investigate the Ancient Ruins He still shows genuine concern about Hiryu and tries to convince him to stop opposing Meio and to join his side, which is met with Hiryu's stern negative response. While still considering him a comrade, however, Hien will not hesitate in fighting Hiryu with all his strength when the time comes. Concept Hien was created after the concept of "a rival character" for Hiryu, and went by the codename during production.Capcom (1999). Capcom Secret File #26: Strider Hiryu 2 (Japanese). Pg. 4 Initial design proposals were quite different from his final design, ranging from a more muscular "gentlemanly design" with long hair to a feral tiger-themed beast man. Some concept art shows that Hien's gameplay was planned to be quite different from Hiryu's, including a possible stance system and an unique climbing tool called "Pendulum Anchor" closer in function to a grappling hook.Staff (June 2000). "Strider Hiryu 2: Setting Document (Part 2)" (Japanese). Monthly Arcadia (06). Pg. 180.Capcom (22 Feb 2014). Strider Hiryu Visual Chronicle (Japanese). Pg. 33 Initially, he was to be named , based on the notion that "a tiger must always oppose a dragon", in reference to the Chinese symbolism of the tiger and the dragon as rival forces. For unknown reasons, however, the name was eventually dropped. Story ''Strider 2 Long before the events of ''Strider 2, Hien used to be a member of the Striders organization and Hiryu's comrade-in-arms, having worked together in several missions. Hien was jealous of Hiryu's legendary strength, status and reputation and eventually abandoned the organization and later joined an evil organization (referred by the term "Light Sword Cypher" in Strider fandom) conformed by several powerful and influential people that rule over the worldCapcom (Sept 1999). JAMMA AM Show Game Flyer (English). in the name of Grandmaster Meio. It is rumored that Hien was also responsible for the sabotage that would lead to the extermination of Striders.Capcom (2000, PlayStation). Strider Hiryû 1&2 (Japanese). Instruction Manual, Pg. 10 At the evil organization's behest, Hien sought out the tomb of Grandmaster Meio among the ancient ruins of "El Dorado". Leading a survey team of jungle soldiers and a giant drill to excavate, he is able to find the burial chamber where Grandmaster Meio is sealed off, and release him. Hiryu appears just in time to witness this action, and engages in battle with Hien. Putting an end to their battle, Hien pleads with Hiryu to stop and realize the mistake of opposing Meio, the "creator of everything in the world". Hiryu ignores his words and tells him to warn Meio that he is "the hunter and Meio the prey", and tells Hien to fight with his full strength next time they meet. Hiryu then leaves a saddened Hien behind. Hien is later seen during Light Sword Cypher's Round Table meeting, following Hiryu's destruction of the Antarctica Research Lab. He mentions that Hiryu's also a survivor of the Striders like himself, but the Chairman seemingly disregards him, deciding to simply watch Hiryu "and learn" before continuing with their agenda. After the destruction of the Battleship Balrog, Hien is seen looking through a window while thinking about Hiryu and how he is "just dreaming". During Hiryu's infiltration of the Third Moon, Hien appears in front of him atop the Beraenavis, a flying segmented robot, ready to fight him. They both fight giving their all, and Hien is defeated again. Hien's whereabouts, or even survival, following his defeat are unknown. ''Strider'' (2014) While Hien didn't appear in-game in the 2014 Strider, his outfit appears as one of the "Fallen Striders" costumes. Additionally, like with all other costumes, a backstory profile is given with his costume; Strider Hien was a Special-A Class Strider, an all-around fighter and expert in the use of the Geometrical Cypher. He was a kind-hearted man, a trait said to be uncommon among the Striders.Capcom (February 2014, multi). Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Character Intel #13: Strider Hien Unlike the original, his emblem was the second kanji in his name, "En" (燕, swallow), instead of the first. Out of all the Striders sent to infiltrate Kazakh City to kill Meio before Hiryu, Hien accomplished the most, having successfully infiltrated Meio's Tower and even faced the Grandmaster himself. He was, however, defeated by Meio's dreadful powers. Abilities and Skills As a Special-A Strider, Hien is among the strongest Striders on the group, and is likely close to be equal to Hiryu in ability. He possess similar agility and can perform most of Hiryu's acrobatic feats such as somersaults, cartwheels and sliding kicks, as well as use a Climb Sickle to move through any surface. But in where he differs greatly from Hiryu is in his weapon and style: Hien wields Geometrical Cyphers, an unique set of Cyphers which can be joined by the hilt and thrown like a boomerang to attack from long range. His mastery of the weapon allows him to join the cyphers in different forms, creating a wide variety of offensive and defensive techniques both for close and far combat. They are also seemingly stronger than Hiryu's Cypher, doing twice more damage to enemies. When thrown, Hien's Geometrical Cypher homes-in and strikes at the closest enemy. Whether it hits or not, the Cypher will fly off-screen and then return to Hien, hitting anyone standing on its path. While stronger than Hiryu's attack, only two can be thrown at a time (three when powered-up), leaving him vulnerable until they return to him. As a playable character, Hien can use all of Hiryu's physical attacks, but lacks the ability to use Boost mode. Other Appearances ''Namco x Capcom Hien appears as one of the game's many non-playable boss characters, and as such has a limited set of techniques to use in battle. He's able to attack up-close using his Cyphers individually, or use his trademark boomerang attack from afar. In the game's story, he serves Grandmaster Meio alongside Solo and Tong Pooh. Hien is first seen looking for a rematch against Hiryu as he's infiltrating the Third Moon, in a reenactment of the final stage of ''Strider 2. Even though he's later joined by his allies, he expects a chance to fight alone against Hiryu. Later chapters have Hien attempting time and time again to convince Hiryu to stop fighting and to join the Grandmaster with him, but he's always turned down and defeated in battle. He starts wondering why Hiryu keeps becoming so powerful every time they battle. During their final encounter, Hien has decided to stop attempting to talk Hiryu out of fighting, and confronts him directly. Hiryu eliminates him during this last fight. ''Street Fighter × All Capcom Hien appears as one of the 500+ character cards found in this crossover mobile phone game. He can be found in two different cards of rarity "R" and "SR+", as well as together with Hiryu in a card of "SSR" rarity. Cameos * Hiryu's all-white Color 4 costume in ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is based on Hien. Trivia * Hien is the first playable character whose play style differs from Hiryu's. While he does play identical to Hiryu, including the use of most of his techniques (Slide, Savage Slash), his ranged attack make for different strategies when going through stages. * Hien is estimated to be 160cm tall since he is half a head shorter than Hiryu. He is also younger than Hiryu. * In the PlayStation port's "Hien Mode", all Hien boss fights remain identical, with the exception of "Boss Hien" being black-colored and with a darker skin tone. No explanation is given for this. * As explained above, Hien is given a passing reference in the 2014 Strider as one of the many collectible Strider outfits that allow the player to change Hiryu's color scheme; applying Hien's will turn the outfit to his signature all-white look. Unlike the original Hien, the Japanese Intel profile for the costume implies this time Hien died opposing Meio as a Strider instead of betraying them. Gallery Strider2Art.png|Hiryu and Hien References Category:Characters Category:Strider Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Villains Category:Bosses Category:Strider Bosses